Carcass tongue protector



g 31, 1939- N. J. DZIEDZIC 2,168,702

CARCASS TONGUE PROTECTOR Original Filed Nov. 21, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 8, 1939. N. J. DZIEDZIC CARCASS TONGUE PROTECTOR 2 sheeis sheet 2 Original Filed Nov. 21, 1936 Snventor (Tttorncu Patented Aug. 8, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARGASS TONGUE PROTECTOR Original application November 21, 1936, Serial No. 112,133. Divided and this application April 10,

1937, Serial No. 136,199

5 Claims.

This invention relates to means for protecting the tongue of a carcass during processing.

This application is a division of my application entitled Tongue protector, Serial No. 112,133, filed November 21, 1936.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide means for protecting a hog tongue from the teeth and. from the dehairing beaters during dehairing of the carcass.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims which follow.

In the drawings similar reference characters in the several figures indicate similar elements.

Figure 1 is a top view of the tongue protector of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side view.

Figure 3 is a side View.

Figure 4 is a side view of means for inserting and removing the tongue protector.

Figure 5 is a side view of the device shown in Figure 4 holding a tongue protector such as is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 6 is an end view of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a side View partly in section of a hog head with the tongue protector in position.

The tongue protector shown in Figure 2 may be formed of a singlepiece of wire I forming a coil 2, the wire I being bent at 3 and 4 to provide arms 5 and 6. Arms 5 and 6 are bent at 1 and. 8, respectively, to provide gripping recesses. Flesh engaging points 9 and I0 are provided by bent arms 5 and 6, respectively, at H and I2. The inserting means comprises forceps I 3, having jaws l4 and I5 separated by handles l6 and I1 pivoted at 18.

To insert the tongue protector into the mouth of a hog carcass, forceps l3 are applied to the tongue protector as shown in Figure 5 to collapse the arms 5 and 6 to the dotted line position shown in Figure 5. The operator retains the grip on the tongue protector and inserts the tongue protector into the mouth of the hog carcass. The hand pressure is released from forceps l 3 and the tongue protector automatically springs into position in the hogs mouth as shown in Figure 7, in which the tongue protector I is shown encircling tongue IS in mouth 20, to such an extent that the flesh-engaging points 9 and. I0 of the tongue protector are securely embedded into the flesh inside the cheeks.

To remove the protector from the hogs mouth, the spoon-like sides of the tool are slid into the mouth between the protector and the cheeks, the prongs compressed. to extract the points from the flesh, and the protector removed. The edges 21 and 22 of forceps l3 are provided with lugs to engage in the offsets I and 8 of the tongue protector, so that the protector may be securely gripped when removed from the mouth and the tearing of flesh avoided.

The tongue protector of the present invention has been found to be effective in practice in preventing the teeth of the hog from mutilating the tongue while the hogs head is being struck with heaters in a dehairing machine.

The method of protecting tongues in animal carcasses in which method the tongue protector of the present invention may be employed, is described and claimed in my aforesaid application, Serial No. 112,133. The tool for inserting and removing tongue protectors of the type of the present invention has been described herein by way of illustration. It is described and claimed in my copending application entitled Tongue protector tool, Serial No. 138,455, filed April 22, 1937.

I claim:

1. A tongue protector comprising enveloping means and a spring tensioned spreader adapted for placement Within the mouth of a carcass to prevent mutilation of the tongue.

2. A tongue protector comprising a guard means for enveloping the tongue and tensioned arms to secure the guard means within the mouth of the carcass.

3. A tongue protector comprising a continuous rod of resilient material bent to form a protecting coil having arms integral therewith, said arms terminating in flesh-engaging points. 40

4. A tongue protector comprising an enveloping guard having resilient arms and flesh-engaging points.

5. A tongue protector comprising a helically wound spring provided with tensionable arms 45 adapted to be inserted within the mouth of an animal carcass to secure the spring within the mouth of the carcass.

NICHOLAS J. DZIEDZIC. 

